The Lebanese Presidential Information Office addressed a circulated photo showing Lebanese President Joseph Aoun shaking hands with the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, stating: 'The President does not know Sheikh Tarif. The photo was distributed by Israeli media for suspicious purposes.' They further stated that 'when the President was heading to his place at the mass for Pope Leo XIV, one of the Druze religious figures attending the mass approached him and shook his hand, even though the President did not know him. Israeli Broadcasting Authority deliberately distributed the photo with a caption far from the truth.'